Machine for reducing and finishing hollow balls.



Patented Sept. |6,"|'90"2.

N 0 T N H 0 J. A 9 0 9 0 7 n N MACHINE FOR REDUCING AND FINISHING HOLLOW BALLS.

, (Appliation filad Sept. 20, 1901.) (No Model.)

2 sheets shaat l.

I amen whom Jd l W Mom e15 I N0.709,409. PatentedSept. l6, I902.

I A. JOHNST MACHINE FOR REDUCING AND FIN NG HOLLOW BALLS.

7 (Application filed Sept. 20,

(No Modell) Shaets8heet 2 FFICE.

ATENT ALLEN JOHNSTON, OF OTTUMWA, IOWA.

MACHINE FOR REDUCING AND FINISHING HOLLOW BALLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 769,409, dated September 16, 1902. Application filed September 20, 1901. Serial No. 75,903. No model- To aZZ whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I,"ALLEN JOHNSTON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Ot- I tumwa, in the county of wa pelllo and State of Iowa, have invented certain, new and useful Improvements in Machines for Reducing and Finishing Hollow Balls, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a and swage the surfaces thereof and remove,

compress, and roll down any roughness, rim, or bur formed and left on said surfaces by the dies used in shaping said balls.

A further object of this invention is to provide adjusting means for varying and determining thedivergence or eccentric arrangement of a disk and ring, whereby a plurality of hollow bearing-balls maybe individually and successively subjected to constantly and gradually increasing pressure between said disk and rim andby said pressure bereduced, polished, and finished to a uniform size.

Another object of my invention is to pro-- vide a machinethat will permit the balls to be constantly rolled until they are in a finished condition. I

Another object of my invention is to provide a means for finishing balls especially adapted for use in ball-bearings withoutgoing through the process of grinding and polishing with the use of emery or kindred abrading materials.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a machine simple in construction and easy to operate and also to cheapen themanufacture of balls for ball-bearings.

Further advantages of myinvention will be seen by referenceto the subjoined specification and the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure 1 is a view in elevation of my machine; Fig. 2, ahorizontallongitudinal view, partly in section,showing theoperating mechanism of the machine; Fig.-3, a like view with Fig. 1, showing a section through the ring and disk and also showing the eccentric arrangement of the ring with the ballsin position; Fig. 4., aview of the edge of the disk;

and Fig. 5, a view of a segment of the ring, showing theinterior wall thereof.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views, A represents the casing of my machine, having the base B, the stem 0, the

cylindrical bore D, and the annular face E.

F represents three lugs or projections on the edge of the annular face E that have screw-threaded bores to receive the bolts G.

, H represents a ring held in place by the bolts G, said ringbeing grooved, as shown at h, on its inner annular face.

I represents a shaft mounted in the bore D, having a disk K mounted thereon, the periphery thereof being also grooved, as. shown at It, opposite the groove 71 in the ring H.

I L indicates a pulley keyed to the shaft, which is adapted to impart a rotatory motion thereto from any suitable machinery.

M represents a bore in the upper part of the ring through which the balls N are fed between the grooves h and 7c, and O a threaded bore in the lower part of the ring through which the finished balls are removed.

P and P represent screw-plugs for insertion in the bores M and 0 while the balls are being rolled.

The operation is as follows: By means of the bolts G the ring H is set a little closer to the periphery of the disk K on one side than on the other to determine the ultimate diameter of. each ball, the distance between the median lines of the grooves h and 7t beluga little less than the unfinished hollow ball as shaped preparatory to treatment in this machine. The plug P is inserted in the open- :ing 0, and disk K is started, so as to cause the balls to pass over the disk to reach the narrowed space between the grooves, and the balls are poured through the bore M by any suitable means until the space between. the

grooves in the disk and ring is filled with the balls. The plug P is then inserted in the bore M to prevent the balls jumping out through said bore. By continuing the rotation of the disk the balls are caused to pass through the narrowed portion between the constantly and gradually converging faces of the grooves h and 7." a number of times and 'are gradually pressed into a spherical shape, and the meeting edges of the blank out of which each ball is shaped become closely knit. The inside of the ball being hollow permits the diameter of the sphere to be appreciably lessened in the operation by the particles of metal being pressed inward, thus preventing the kneading of the metal, as would result if the ball were formed of a solid body, and insuring the formation of a perfect sphere a little smaller in diameter than when subjected to treatment of this machine. It will thus be seen that the metal in the ball is made more dense and its surface hardened and polished by this operation; It will be seen that by having the space on one side between the grooves h and is wider than on the other side permits the surfaces of the balls jostling against each other, and thus turn the balls so that they go through the narrowed space with different poles of the balls being pressed at succeeding revolutions of the disk K.

When the balls have been rolled sufficiently that each ball has been reduced to a common predetermined diameter and has its surface pressed, swaged, reduced, and condensed into proper shape and hardened polished condition, qualifying the balls for use in ball-bearings, the plug Q is removed and the balls allowed to pour out of the threaded bore, 0 into any suitable receptacle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is-- 1. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a disk having a grooved periphery and mounted for rotation and a ring having a grooved inner face, said ring held closer to one side of the periphery of said disk than to the other side thereof, together with means whereby the balls may be discharged after they have been rolled around the disk a plurality of times and through such rolling are reduced on their several axes to the desired size and finish.

2. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a disk having a grooved periphery and mounted for rotation, and a ring having a grooved inner face and mounted eccentrically thereto, means for varying the eccentricity, together with means whereby the balls may be discharged after they have been rolled around the disk a plurality of times and through such rolling are reduced on their several axes to the desired size and finish.

3. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs,a disk having a grooved periphery and mounted for rotation, and a ring having a grooved inner face, said ring held closer to one side of the periphery of said disk than to the other side thereof, means for retaining the balls between the same, together with means whereby the balls may be discharged after they have been rolled around the disk a plurality of times and through such rolling are reduced on their several axes to the desired size and finish.

4. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a disk havinga grooved periphery and mounted for rotation, a ring having a grooved innerface surroundingsaid disk and arranged to roll a contacting series of balls repeatedly and successively and means for adjusting the inner face of said ring relativeto the periphcry of said disk, and means for discharging the balls.

5. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a casing having an annular face, lugs on the edge thereof; screwsin said lugs, a ring having its inner face grooved, a disk with a grooved periphery mounted within said ring, means for rotating said disk and means whereby-a plurality of balls may be discharged after they have rolled around the disk a predetermined number of times and have been reduced on their several axes to the required size and-finish.

6. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a grooved ring, a disk arranged to rotate within the ring, an opening to receive a series of balls in the groove between the ring and disk and means whereby each individual ball is assisted through the wider portion of said groove byimpact of succeeding balls as they are passed from the narrower portion of said groove and are thus rolled and in turn advanced in the groove.

7, In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a grooved disk, a grooved ring eccentrically mounted opposite the periphery of said disk, an opening in said ring to receive the balls between the ring and disk, and means to permit the discharge of the balls or to discontinue their discharge.

8. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, in combination with a suitable pedestal and a circular plate bored to receive a shaft; a disk fixedly mounted on said shaft, a groove on the edge of said disk, agrooved ring mounted outside said disk and held in an eccentric relation thereto by means of screws inserted through projections on the edge of said circular plate, openings in said ring at the top and bottom of the machine to permit ingress and egress of the spherical bodies,and screw-plugs adapted to seat in said openings.

9. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a disk having a grooved periphery, a ring eccentrically surrounding said disk and formed with a grooved inner face, adjusting means for varying the divergence or eccentrical arrangement of said ring relative to the periphery of said disk whereby such a number of balls may be repeatedly and successively rolled in the groove between the disk and ring as will cause those balls being moved in the narrower portion of the groove to push forward those balls in the wider part of the groove until, by reason of the converging space, each ball in turn becomes self-propelling.

10. In a machine for rolling hollow bearingballs, a rotatable disk having a grooved periphery, a ring eccentrically surrounding said disk and formed with a grooved inner face and adjusting means for varying the divergence or eccentrical arrangement of the inner face of said ring relative to the periphery ofsaid a series of balls repeatedly and successively disk,wherebya series of balls may be repeatthrough the gradually-narrowing space beedly and successively rolled, between gradntween them with positive predetermined presally-converging surfaces, to a predetermined sure.

5 size andfinish through their various axes. In testimony whereof I hereto affix my sig- 15 11. In a machine for rollinghollow hearingnature in the presence of two Witnesses. balls, a disk having a grooved periphery and ALLEN JOHNSTON. mounted for rotation, a ring having a grooved Witnesses: inner face secured eccentrically in relation to S. F. RANDOLPH, J12,

IO said disk, said disk and ring combined to roll D. A. GOURICK. 

